Knowledge that it had been my mother who'd done that to the SUV rolled through me in angry waves. "You had no right to do that," I growled; my voice came out low, threatening.

Even though her face was even, there was a glimmer of something akin to defensiveness in her eyes. "I was trying to protect you, Asher," she told me. "You're going to be future alpha, and I won't let anyone touch that.

I stepped forward, my eyes ablaze with anger. "You had no right to interfere in my life like that," I repeated. "And you certainly had no right to put Aurora in danger."

Sophia's eyes slitted...